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HAPPY NEW YEAR
from everyone at ChartChat

This is Edition 529

Chart Chat is updated every week usually on a Tuesday

Radio Index

United Kingdom Radio station guide.
 (Listen while you surf)

3OH!3 featuring Katy Perry climbed up three places to no.3 with 'Starstrukk' while last weeks number one 'Bad Romance' fell three to no.4 for Lady Gaga. Florence & The Machine continued to climb with 'You've Got The Love' going up eight places to no.5 while Journey went back up a place to no.6 with 'Don't Stop Believin''. Chipmunk featuring Talay Riley went up three to no.7 with 'Look For Me' but Ke$ha fell four to no8 with 'Tik Tok'.  The Saturdays secured another top ten hit as 'Ego' went up eight to no.9 and the top ten was rounded off by Black Eyed Peas who went down seven places to no.10 with 'Meet Me Halfway'. 

The changes didn't stop there with six climbers and one new entry being found in the remainder of the top twenty. Alexandra Burke climbed seven to no.12 with her new single 'Broken Heels' while the hotly tipped Justin Bieber got a new entry at no.14 with 'One Time'. N-Dubz featuring Mr Hudson continued their steady climb as 'Playing With Fire' went up a further two to no.16 and Timbaland featuring SoShy & Nelly Furtado climbed four to no.17 with 'Morning After Dark'. Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys went up two to no.18 and Jay-Z secured another climber as his Mr Hudson collaboration 'Young Forever' climbed eight places to no.19.  The final mover inside the top twenty went to Wiley featuring Chew Fu as they climbed two to no.20 with 'Take That'. 

There were three new entries, three re-entries and one climber in the lower half of this weeks chart. Florence & The Machine got a new entry at no.23 with 'Dog Days Are Over' while Alicia Keys went back up one to no.24 with 'Doesn't Mean Anything'.  La Roux scored a re-entry at no.28 with 'In For The Kill' while Lostprophets returned to chart action at no.32 with their new single 'Where We Belong'. Alicia Keys got a new entry at no.35 with 'Empire State Of Mind Part II' and Paolo Nutini re-entered at no.36 with 'Pencil Full Of Lead'. The final re-entry came for 30 Seconds To Mars at no.40 with 'Kings & Queens'.  

Their 2009 album 'The Liberty Of Norton Folgate' saw 1980's ska favourites Madness achieve a top five studio album for the first time since '7' which got to no.5 back in 1981. Their new single 'Forever Young' is technically the fourth single to be taken from the album although their last outing 'Sugar & Spice' was only available as a download. So far only 'NW5' from the album made the top forty, peaking at no.24. The single comes released on CD, 7" and download with the CD containing the Melt Music Radio Edit, the Future Cut Remix, the J Star Mr Wallace Dub, the Live from Later...With Jools Holland Mix and 'Love Really Hurts'.  The 7" features the original version alongside the J Star Mr Wallace Dub while the J Star Late Night Taxi Remix is available as a digital download.   

Fyfe Dangerfield is better known as being the founding member of Indie favourites The Guillemots but this week sees him branching out on his own with the release of brand new single 'She Needs Me'. The single is taken from his album 'Fly Yellow Moon' which is due to hit the shops next week. It is released on both CD and 7" vinyl with the CD format containing the Shorter Extra-Bass Version and the Monarchy Mix alongside ' Jerusalem ' while the vinyl version includes the Full Length Extra-Bass Version alongside new track 'Great Crescendos'. As a band The Guillemots have achieved four top forty hits and two top twenty albums so Fyfe has a great base from which to launch his solo career.  This is a decent tune and should secure him a debut hit single in his own right. 

Colorado based band OneRepublic return this week with their latest single 'All The Right Moves' although it is only released as a download.  Despite forming in 2002 it was 2008 by the time they made their name with their 'Apologize' single which charted thanks to the involvement of Timbaland although the follow up 'Stop And Stare' was also a top five hit. Last year saw them release their second album 'Waking Up' and it has already seen the single 'Secrets' make the top five in Austria and Germany . So far this single has managed to make the top ten in both Switzerland and New Zealand and will be helping to achieve a similar level of success over here in the UK . They are also currently featuring on the new Leona Lewis album 'Echo' through the track 'Lost And Found'.  

'Stay Too Long' is the new single by Plan B and it gets released on CD and 12" formats this week. Both formats feature the Pendulum mix and it is the first track to be lifted from his new album 'The Defamation Of Strickland Banks'.  The film of the same name makes its debut this year and was written by and stars Plan B under his real name of Ben Drew. His debut album 'Who Needs Actions When You Got Words' was released back in 2006 and made no.30. It failed to yield any major hits, though 'Mama (Loves A Crackhead)' did drop just short peaking at no.41. He has also made several film appearances including Noel Clarke's acclaimed 2008 movie 'Adulthood' and did enjoy some chart glory last year when he guested on the massive Chase & Status dance hit 'End Credits'. 

The 8th January sees the 75th anniversary of the birth of Elvis and to celebrate veteran rocker Suzy Quatro is releasing her new single 'Singing With Angels' on digital download only. The track was actually recorded in Nashville and features Presley's vocal backing band The Jordanaires and guitarist James Brunton. You would have to go right back to 1980 to trace her last top forty appearance with 'Mama's Boy'. That made no.34, but if you went all the way back to 1973 you'd uncover her first number one hit 'Can The Can' with her second ' Devil Gate Drive ' arriving a year later.  She has continued to record during the intervening years and released her last album 'Back To The Drive' in 2006. She has sold 45m records in her career but may struggle to return to the UK charts with this offering. 

'Gastown' is the brand new single release from the up and coming folk duo Smoke Fairies. It is released on a 7" vinyl format and comes backed with the track 'River Song'. It was recorded back in July of last year when they were invited to stay at Jack White's studios in Nashville .  White himself performs the drums on the track with Jack Lawrence playing the bass. If White's recommendation doesn't sway you then it is worth noting that the legendary Richard Hawley described the duo as being the best thing he had heard in years. They are headlining their own gig at The Lexington in London at the start of February and hope to add further to their constantly growing fanbase in 2010. It's a decent tune but its perhaps not quite commercial enough to chart. 

Get Well Soon release their brand new single 'Angry Young Man' this week on 7" vinyl. The band is actually a project of the multi talented singer, songwriter and instrumentalist Konstantin Gropper.  Their debut album 'Rest Now, Weary Head! You Will Get Well Soon' came out in 2008 to rave reviews and made the top thirty in Gropper's native Germany . The follow up release is entitled 'Vexations' and is due for release later this year. Despite a series of EP's dating back to 2005, the band have released just two previous singles 'If This Hat Is Missing I Have Gone Hunting' and 'Witches, Witches! Rest Now In The Fire' though neither of these troubled the UK charts.  I suspect that will still be the case with this latest new release but I am prepared to be proved wrong.  

Forty four year old soul singer Andrew Roachford enjoyed four top twenty albums between 1988 and 1997 but since then his run of success seems to have dried up. Although it only made no.61 on its original issue, it was the no.4 hit 'Cuddly Toy' which put him on the map although it was to become his only top ten appearance.  A collaboration in 2004 with Mousse T did seem him notch up a top thirty hit in Germany and Austria , and its another joint project which could secure him another chart run this time around.  'Trouble Woman' is credited to Dr Rubberfunk featuring Roachford and is released this week on download only.  He still retains a following today and last October / November saw him enjoy a small UK tour concluding in Camden .  This could well crossover into the mainstream charts. 

'Heaven Can Wait' gets a download release this week for Charlotte Gainsbourg & Beck and it is released this week on a download format.  Charlotte is the daughter of the 1960's duo Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg who famously had a massive hit with 'Je Taime (Moi Non Plus)' despite being banned by the BBC. She made her English speaking acting debut in 'The Cement Garden' in 1993 and last year saw her win an award for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her part in 'Antichrist'. Her debut album 'Charlotte For Ever' was released in 1986 when she was just fifteen, but her 2006 release '5:55' gained her some critical acclaim.  Working with Beck on her new album 'I.R.M.' will have done her no harm and will go some way to establishing herself as a serious music artist.  

Also released this week are 'It's My Turn 2009' by Angelic, 'Under Control' by Good Shoes and 'We Want War' by These New Puritans.  Download only releases this week include 'This Addiction' by Alkaline Trio, 'Even As It All Goes By' by Beth Nielsen Chapman, 'Young Forever' by Jay-Z featuring Mr Hudson, 'Don't Let It Go To Your Head' by Jordin Sparks, 'White Russian Doll' by Lucky Soul and '10/10' by Paolo Nutini. 

Hard to say what will happen next week but keep an eye out for the download release of 'Fireflies' by Owl City as it could be the strongest challenger to Iyaz's reign at the top. Don't forget to stop by next week when artists releasing new singles include Ash, Biffy Clyro, Girls Can't Catch and Jason Derulo.  Until then have yourself a good week.

JHME Music Correspondent